Precious Droplets

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Sita was sitting in a restaurant sipping hot coffee. The sky was becoming dark and it looked as if it might rain any moment. A small boy came running and thrust a bit of paper in her hand and ran away. She looked with some confusion and slowly opened the piece of paper. The familiar handwriting gave her a jolt and she sat up straight. Slowly she read the message on the paper. The message read “Can you spend half an hour with me please? I am waiting outside in my car. Please do not go away without speaking to me”. She paid the bill and ran out. A big red car came by her side and stopped near her. The door opened and a voice called her “Come Sita! Please come inside”. A woman clad in a purdah came out from the car, grabbed her hand and pulled her inside the car. The voice seemed very familiar. “Who is this? Please leave me” Sita cried. The woman removed the veil from her face. On seeing her face, Sita opened her eyes widely. “Maha! Is it you? I am not able to believe this” she said. Yes, it was her childhood friend Mahalakshmi, who is now the dream girl of Indian youth, the charming and most beautiful actor Ibha. They hugged each other. Flashbacks started appearing in both their minds and they laughed and cried at the same time, sitting inside the car. “So, Sita, how are you? I could judge that my timid little friend has become the most pretty, bold and confident woman. Am I right?” Ibha asked. Sita smiled. “I am fine. How are you? How is your mom?” she asked. “Come, let’s go to my house and have a nice chat” Ibha invited her. Sita couldn’t refuse though she was very angry with Ibha. “I know you are angry with me. But please give me a chance to explain my position” Ibha said. Sita agreed and they went to Ibha’s house. They sat in the drawing room.
“It is more than five years since we last met” Sita said. “I had come to wish you on your birthday with my friends to the place where you were shooting for a film. You had acted as if you never knew me and humiliated me in front of my friends. I was so badly hurt and wounded that I vowed I shall never see you again or talk with you. But now, when you called me, the only thing I remembered was our friendship and nothing else”. “I am very lucky to have such a good friend” said Ibha. They were studying in the same school from kinder garden to 9[SUP]th[/SUP] Std., and they were very thick friends. Ibha was acting in a few movies as a child artist at that time. Her name was Mahalakshmi and for Sita, it was Maha. When they reached 9[SUP]th[/SUP] Std., Ibha was suddenly stopped from the school. When Sita tried to contact her, Ibha’s mom told her that she was pursuing her studies privately as she got offers in many good movies. She wrote so many letters to Ibha, but there was no reply. Finally, when she was in the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] year of her degree, she came to know that Ibha had a film shooting near her college. As it was also the birthday of Ibha, she took some of her friends and went to the shooting spot to wish her. Ibha didn’t show even a trace of recognition. When Sita tried to talk to her, Ibha just ignored her and also humiliated her. “So many people tell that they know me very well. Because I am a famous actor, people always try to befriend me. But I cannot be friends with all the persons who know me. Don’t disturb me unnecessarily. Mom! Please do not entertain such strangers” these were the exact words that Ibha had used when Sita went to greet her. “Why did you behave in such a strange manner that day?” asked Sita. “Yes, I acted strangely because I didn’t want my dearest friend to know what sort of life I was leading and I also didn’t want her to get the shock of her life if she knows about my story” Ibha said. “I don’t understand. I thought you were very happy with your mom showering so much love on you, with so much money and facilities and people waiting in long queues to have a glimpse of you” Sita said. “That is how people see and think about me. Do you remember that last day in school, when I was taken home by my mom?” Ibha asked. “Yes, I do remember very well. I never knew that you were going forever and never come back to school” said Sita. “Yes, I also remember that day very well. Do you know where my mom took me?” Ibha asked. “She took me to the seaside villa of one of the very famous film directors. We were waiting in the drawing room. I was amazed by the grandeur of the villa. I was called inside the Director’s room. My mom said that she would wait in the drawing hall itself and asked me to go inside. I went inside and the door was locked. He was sitting on the bed and was grinning. I could see one of his golden teeth”. Her body shivered involuntarily. ‘Come here and sit’ he called me. I went and sat near him. I was very innocent then. Did you know where he touched me? Did you know what he did to me?” I tried to run away from him. But I couldn’t do anything and it was all over in half hour’s time” Ibha said. “Did you tell your mom? asked Sita. “Do you think I didn’t? Till then, I didn’t believe in luck. But, a girl should be very lucky even to have a mother with good character. When I told her, she said “listen girl. Whatever the Director does is for our good only. Do whatever he says”. My mom’s only aim in life was to make me an actor at any cost. She wanted to become an actor herself. When that was not possible, she wanted atleast her daughter to become one. She was prepared to do anything for that and I was made a puppet in her hand. Do you know how many times both my mom and myself had entertained that b……?” “Maha! Oh Maha!” Sita’s eyes swelled with tears. “Don’t cry dear, please don’t cry. Don’t shed those tears. They are not tear drops. Convert them to precious droplets of gem stones. Don’t waste them. My story is not over yet. ” Ibha said.
(to be continued)

 

Thank you Pallavi, Please read the remaining part and give your comments.
Regards

 

“Of course, he cast me in all his movies and that was how your Maha became Ibha. But after that I became so upset and ashamed that I decided to end my life. I took my mom’s sleeping pills without her knowledge but my mom always kept a watch over me and I was waiting for a chance to take the sleeping pills. That opportunity came to me very soon. One day, my mom didn’t accompany me to the shooting as she was not well. After I had lunch, I took the pills and was about to swallow them. Someone caught hold of my hand. It was Valliamma, our maid servant. ‘Leave me Valliamma, I don’t want to live any more. Please leave me’.
‘Don’t do that child’, she said. ‘Life is God’s gift to man. None of us have any right to end our life. By ending your life, the solution to your problem does not arise’ she said. That evening she took me to her house. ‘My daughter would be waiting for me’ she said with a smile. She opened the lock and we went inside her house. I was shocked on seeing her daughter. She was a quadriplegic i.e., both her legs and hands were not functioning. On seeing her mom, she welcomed her with a smile. ‘What is this Valliamma?’ I asked her. ‘Yes, child, she was such a bright and intelligent girl. She lost her limbs in an accident when she was eight. Now she is fifteen. Her father i.e., my husband married another lady when she was two years old and left us. From that day, I have been taking care of her. If I had wanted, I could have ended both our lives. But as I told you earlier, life is God’s gift to us. If you don’t like to live for yourself, start living for others. There are so many people who deserve love and affection. Shower love on people. After all, God is love’ she said.
‘Sita, I learnt from Valliamma, what I didn’t learn in school or anywhere else. From that day, I acted in movies and also continued my studies. I finished my degree and did my MBA. I earned plenty of money. My mom is now bed ridden. She starts crying whenever she sees me. Her conscience pricks her whenever she sees me. I take care of her. I don’t have any ill feelings towards her. As I had rightly learnt, I shower love on her. Since my mom is bed ridden, now I am independent. I act only in selective movies. I had started a trust with the money I earned and I have started a school. Do you know what my school specializes in? We admit only boys in our school. The boys are taught the value of human life and the value of women at a very young age. They are also taught to respect women, understand the sacrifices every woman makes in her life to bring up children and run a family. They are also taught to treat women as their sisters and also to protect our women folk. As news of this school spread, donations started pouring. We invite ordinary men who respect women to give lectures to the students about the importance of women. Not all men are bad. There are thousands of men out there with hearts of gold, who want to help their womenfolk. I personally feel that if boys are taught the value of women from their childhood, all these sexual harassments and assaults on women would lessen to a great extent. My aim is to open more such schools and bring about awareness” Ibha finished her story.

Sita sat spellbound. “For once Maha, please let me shed those precious droplets” she said. They hugged each other and cried one last time.

I would like to dedicate this story to all the women folk throughout the earth who sacrifice everything and live for others despite the hardships faced by them.:thumbsup

 

Thank you Pallavi